Mooring for airships



Apr 7, 1931. F. H. CLERQUE MOORTNG FOR AIRSHIPS Filed May 28, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 U ands A Tram/E YS A ril 79 1931. F. @ERGUE 1,1 21

MOORING FOR AIRSHIPS Filed May 28, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 772/1: C'Zezyue vkq w si j A TTORNE Y5 April 7, 1931 F, H QLERGUE 1,799,677

MOORING FOR AIHSHIPS Filed May 28, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR zzznorls C'Zergue A TTORNE Y5 April 7, 1931. F. H. CLEFBQUE MOORING FOR AIRSHIPQ Filed May 28, 15928 4 Sheets-611661; 4

- INVENTOR flanais H (Zegue A TTORNE YS Patented A an 7, 1931 1 AraNr QFFICE rnmcrsnznc'ron cannons, oar-moment, comma, osmium Moonme roa menus Application fll'ed" May as; 1923, semi no. 281,086.

My invention relates to mooringsior airships, and is intended for use prlmarily 1nconj unctionwith mooring masts o'rlikestructures to which airships may be-made fast and about which the: craft is free to swing: so that its nose will keeppointin'ginto the wind; The object of my invention is to provide a cradle structure or support movable (preferably upon circular ra1ls) about the mast or' other point: towhich the. aircraft is moored, so-thati theship willbe preserved from damage due to contact with the ground or to anywi'nd' forcexfrom any direction. In

the preferred form of my invention, the cra dle and railitrolleysprevent not only downward movement ofthe ship but upward and sidewi'se"movementas-well.

Without" desirin'gto restrict mysel f to thespecific details illustrated, I will now proceed to i describe a satisfactory and' preferred: form of my invention; with: reference to the ac- ,w companying. drawings-, in which Fig-. 1 is a plan view'of'amooring and supportmg ar' rangement' embodying my invention Figs;

and 3-'-3-respectively of Fig. 11;" Fig. 4 Visa.

partial cross section,- substantiallyon the line 4-4 ofFig; 3: Fig. 5: is a detail elevation of a portion. of the circular track along. which Fig. 6' is avertical the cradle is movable: I I c. section on theline 6-6 of Fig. 5'} and Fig;

7 is a plan viewof a pneumatic cushion fonningpart of'the cradle.

- known. or approved. construction, generally madewith a rotatinguupper portion M to; whichthe-nose Y'Tof the aircraft isadapted to-be madefast; such'portionM being swiveled'to swing. about the vertical: axis of the vide one or more cradle and'trolley'tracks;

the example illustrated showing: an inner).

track T and an outer track '1 ,l the distance of: the inner track and; being about one third of the length of the airship tobe moored,

Thus; for an airship 600 feet long; the'innen track Tlwould' be-200 feet from the mast M,

whilethe out'entra'ck-HT' would have a radius of 400-f'eet. But these circular tracks may I prefer to=have clamps C on eve 2 and'S'areverticaI sections on the lines 2- -2' M' designates a mooring mast of'anywell mast. Concentricallywith the mast I probetween the tracks "being equal to'the radius bespaced. apart any distances best suited to the framin of the airships'structure.

u The re erredv track construction is as follows t sultable intervals piers P of concrete or other suitable material are built in the ground-G, and through such piers extend vertical rods R on which are fitted clamps C adapted to be forced down by nuts N into tight engagement with one of the outside base flanges of an l-beam I forming one of the 00 rails of the track.- The other inner base flange of said I-beam is adapted tobe held down by a clamp O- pivoted at C" to a housmg H secured to the pier" P by tie rods R pier, and clamps C on every other pier. e clam Q is adapted to be brought into active position by a wedge member W engaging a correspondin surface on said clamp and movable len hwise on a red A connected with the hous ng H. A nut or handwheel N,

screwingon a threaded portion of said rod A,.serves to hold orrelease the wed e or holdingmember' and the clamp C In order to facilitate removal and replacement of the beam I, the rod A, with the clamp mechanism W, N thereon, is mounted to sw ng on thehousingH about a horizontal ax1sA"rang1ng lengthwise of the track, and

asthe clam proper G is movable about the rail. This joint consists of a fish plate F I having: longitudinal slots F through which extend the shanks of boltsiB carried by the end portions of the said beams I; nuts and washers of the well-known type are fitted on said bolts. as indicated at B The upper flanges of the I-bea'ms constitute thev tracks proper for the cradles. There is an outer cradle traveling onthe outer track T,'andan-inner cradle traveling'on the track TL As these cradles are substantially alike,

it will suffice to describe one of them in detail. The cradle comprises four trucks or trolleys D each having four upper rollers E and four lower rollers G rotatable about transverse horizontal axes E and G respectively. The upper flanges of the track beam I fit between the upper rollers E and the lower rollers G, while the frame or body of the trolley is of inverted U-shape and straddles the upper portion of the rail or beam I; thus. the trolley is held against any substantial lateral movement as well as against any substantial upward or downward movement. The several trolleys belon ing to the same cradle are connected rigi ly by a suitable frame X, the central portion of which is preferably made with a platform J to accommodate a motor truck bringing supplies, mail, etc. for the airship, and on said platform I should also locate the controls of the adjusting mechanism to be described presently. Of course the several trolleys would be set at an angle to each other (in plan view), corresponding to the curvature of the track on which they run.

At the central portion, that is, above the platform J, is located the cradle proper consisting of acushion K adapted to engage the hull of :the airship C, a vertically movable carrier L for said cushion, and suitable mechanism for raising or lowering such carrier with the cushion. The cushion may be made of rubberized fabric, and is preferably of cellular structure. If desired, provision may be made for inflating the cushion with an air pump, after the fashion of a pneumatic tire. 0 indicates an inflating valve a plied to a tube Q, provided with separate 0 eck valves Q, controlling connections to the individual compartments or cells K. The cushion illustrated is formed with an opening or clearance K" for the passage of a stairway J leading up from the platform J, to give access to the interior of the hull through an opening C". The upper surface of the cushion K is concaved to fit, approximately, the shape of the hull.

The cushion K and its carrier L may be adjusted up and down by mechanism operated from the platform J. Any suitable.

mechanical device (such as racks and pinions) or pneumatic or hydraulic controls may be employed. I have indicated hydraulic mechanism comprising a pump S driven by a motor U (for instance, an internal combustion engine) and having pipe connections S to hydraulic cylinders S" in which are fitted the vertically movable pistons or rams L ex tending downwardly from the carrier L. Oil is preferred as the liquid of this hydraulic system.

The lateral or outrigger portions X of the cradle frame X, which like the cradle frame, are supported by over and underslung trolleys, are connected with the lower ends of 'steadying cables or st a a V divergin upward y, transversely of t e airship and ong1- tudinally of the track, and the upper ends of these stays are connected with the hull at different levels, as shown. Similarly, I prefer to provide stays W diverging upwardly to connect with the aircraft body at different points of its length. It will be obvious that these cables or stays V, W should be detachable at least at one end, either at the ship or at the cradle frame.

It will be noted that the track rails project above the ground and are easily cleared of snow, mud, etc. At suitable points I would arrange level crossings Z, which would also enable supply trucks, mail trucks, etc. to reach the clear s ace between the rails of the same track, whic space would be made wide enough (say, twelve feet) for trucks to travel readily between the rails of the same track T or T. Inasmuch as the two cradles are independent of each other, they will adjust themselves properly to the respective portions of the airship.

I claim:

1. In an air craft mooring device of the type which includes a central moorin structure, and a track concentric with suc structure, the combination of a cradle movable along said track, and a non-oscillating seating surface on said cradle conformin a proximately to the she e of the hull of t e air craft and adapted to irectly engage only a restricted arc of the lower surface 0 said hull irom below to provide a movable rest there- 2.. In an air craft mooring device of the type which includes a mooring structure, and a track curved about said structure as a centre, the combination of a carria movable along said track, a cradle adjusta le in vertical d1- rections on said carriage to different fixed ositions and a non-oscillating seating sur ace conformin approximately to the shape of the hull 0 said air craft and adapted to engage only a restricted arc of the lower surface of the saidhull from below to provide a movable rest therefor.

3. A support for air craft,- comprising a carriage and a cradle mounted on said carriage and adjustable up and down relatively thereto to different fixed positions, said cradle having a non-oscillating seatin surface concaved to conform approximatefy to the form of the hull of said air craft and adapted to engage only a restricted arc of the lower surface of said hull from below to provide a movable rest therefor.

4. A sup ort according to claim 3, in which the cradle 1s provided with a non-oscillating 12 cushion shaped and dimensioned to fit the hull of the air craft at a predetermined point and adapted to engage onl a restricted arc of the.lower surface of sai hull from below to provide a movable rest therefor.

5. In a moorin device for air craft including an inflatable hull, a carriage, a cradle adjustable up and down on the central portion of said carriage to different fixed positions,

said cradle having a non-oscillating seating surface conforming approximately to the shape of said hull and adapted to engage only the central bottom portion of the same from below to provide a movable direct rest for said hull, and stays connected with said carriage for securing said hull in said cradle.

6. In a mooring device for air craft including an inflatable hull, a carria e provided with a cushion having a non-oscillating seating surface conforming approximately to the shape of said hull and adapted to directly engage only the central bottom portion of the same from below, and stays for securing said hull to the carriage to maintain the hull on said seating surface.

7. In a mooring device for air craft including an inflatable hull, a carriage provided with a support having a non-oscillating seating surfare conforming1 approximately to the shape of said hull an a apted to directly engage only the central bottom portion of I the same from below, and stays for securing said hull on said seating surface.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. v

FRANCIS HECTOR CLERGUE. 

